Chi-town on a cloudy day

Despite the overcast skies, we played tourist in Chicago today.  We took in the Chicago Institute of Art, Millennium Park, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House.  It was a day of a lot of walking, so the cool cane came along and was a big help.



I’m never good for more than a couple of hours in any museum, although I must confess the Chicago Institute of Art was so nicely laid out that it was not tiresome.  By far my favorite exhibit was modern furniture designed by the German Konstantin Grcic.  The cool thing is that we could actually try out the chairs and these were particularly comfortable.



We walked over to the Millennium Grill for a lunch overlooking the crowd of ice skaters, who were taking advantage of the fact that it was MLK’s birthday.  Then we wandered through a portion of the park, finding some interesting Chinese artwork on a grand scale.



Since our previous visit to Chicago two years ago, the three of us had all read “Loving Frank,” so it was only natural that we would want to explore more of his genius.  We found his Robie House, which is in the process of being restored, but still allows tours. 



There are so many things about the Prairie School which I find appealing.  The horizontal lines, the use of rich wood, the adornment of stain glass windows, and the general good sense of the architect all combine to produce livable art. 

By late afternoon as the last glimmer of light was leaving the cold winter sky, we opted for tea back “home” as opposed to more tourist stops.  Tonight we will take our hosts out for food at a fun Italian restaurant, and then after one of our group has an appointment in the morning we will head back to DC, hoping to beat the winter storm that is brewing.

It’s been a great getaway, even if a short one.